ACRN Journal of Finance and Risk Perspectives Vol. 4, Issue 1, February 2015, p. 82-101 ISSN 2305-7394 THE FORBES 400 AND THE GATES-BUFFETT GIVING PLEDGE 1 2 4 Kent Hickman , Mark Shrader , Danielle Xu3, Dan Lawson 1,2,3 School of Business Administration, Gonzaga University 4Department of Finance, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Abstract. Large disparities in the distribution of wealth across the world’s population may contribute to political and societal instability. While public policy decisions regarding taxes and transfer payments could lead to more equal wealth distribution, they are controversial. This paper examines a voluntary initiative aimed at wealth redistribution, the Giving Pledge, developed by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates. High wealth individuals signing the pledge commit to give at least half of their wealth to charity either over their lifetime or in their will. We attempt to identify personal characteristics of America’s billionaires that influence their decision to sign the pledge. We find several factors that are related to the likelihood of giving, including the individual’s net worth, the source of their wealth, their level of education, their notoriety and their political affiliation. Keywords: Philanthropy, Giving Pledge, Forbes 400, wealth redistribution Introduction The Giving Pledge is an effort to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will. (The Giving Pledge, 2013). The extremely rich are known to purchase islands, yachts, sports teams and collect art in their pursuit of happiness. From casual observation it appears that when one has big wealth, then one requires big initiatives to affect utility. This study’s focus is on one such big initiative, the Giving Pledge (also known as the Gates-Buffett Pledge), which commits its signatories to donating at least half their wealth to charity. We attempt to uncover some of the personal characteristics of America’s billionaires that influence their decisions to sign the pledge. Included among these characteristics are the source of the individual’s wealth, their net worth, marital status, age, political leaning, their notoriety and whether they have children. We find several factors that are related to the likelihood of pledging, including the individual’s net worth, the source of their wealth, their level of education, their notoriety and their political affiliations. Oxfam, the international charity focused on alleviating poverty, recently reported that the world’s wealthiest 85 individuals own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion people on earth (Fuentes-Nieva, 2014), that’s as much as half of the planet’s entire population. The report warns that global inequality of wealth may be a significant threat to the world’s developed 82 THE FORBES 400 AND THE GATES-BUFFETT GIVING PLEDGE democracies and therefore calls for governments to adopt policies aimed toward alleviating the problem and increasing opportunity for the poor. Among Oxfam’s suggestions are a more progressive tax system, the elimination of tax-dodging schemes and an increased investment in health care and other public institutions. Somewhat ironically, the report was presented at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual get-together in Davos, Switzerland, where the elite wealthy meet to discuss economic issues, a venue where last year even “…the WEF warned that financial inequality threatened to undermine social stability and security on a ‘global scale’” (Stout, 2014). Attending the WEF were many billionaires whose names have appeared on the Forbes 400 annual ranking of the richest Americans. Among these super-rich individuals are some who have taken a novel step toward personally redistributing a majority of their own wealth by becoming signatories of the Giving Pledge, initiated by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. When they sign the Pledge, individuals are committing to giving away staggering amounts of money. The “least wealthy” individual signer among those included in the 2012 Forbes 400 roster had an estimated net worth of $1.1 Billion, implying their charitable donations will eventually exceed $500 Million. The gift commitments go up from there all the way to America’s richest man, Bill Gates, who by signing the Pledge promises to donate over $33 Billion. Given the magnitude of this wealth and the significant positive effects these giving decisions could have on multitudes of people, two obvious questions are: “What motivations underlie the choice to make the Pledge?” and “Are there systematic traits among those who sign which differ from those who choose not to sign the Pledge?” Why Pledge? As a vehicle for examining the Pledge decision, we utilize the 2012 Forbes 400 ranking of the wealthiest Americans (Forbes, 2013). While the Forbes list has been used empirically to examine the distribution of wealth amongst the very richest individuals (Klass et. al., 2006) and as a vehicle for examining changing pathways to wealth (Kaplan & Rauh, 2013), we focus on the curious behavior of the 63 (15.75%) of these billionaires who have signed the Pledge. By committing to give away at least half of their wealth during their lifetimes, or as part of their estates, these individuals are apparently gaining more utility by selectively giving money away than they expect to derive from any other use of this tremendous wealth. In fact, many, such as Mr. Buffett himself, actively make charitable contributions at the same time that they seek to increase their wealth, signaling the pleasure they gain from making money and also from giving it away (or perhaps making money in order to give it away). Theoretically, this seems consistent with the concept of interdependence among different individuals’ utility functions as first suggested by Hochman and Rogers (1969). In giving money to charity, individuals lose utility as a result of their reduction in wealth but gain a larger amount of utility from their philanthropy. The net positive utility is a result of the divergent marginal utility of the involved parties, as the marginal utility of a dollar is certainly higher for the charity recipient than for the billionaire. The billionaire’s utility function then would seem to be dependent, to some extent, on the utility of the poorer charitable recipients. One way to gain an understanding about why individuals sign the Pledge would be to “ask them.” Since the Pledge includes a letter from most signatories in which they comment on 83 ACRN Journal of Finance and Risk Perspectives Vol. 4, Issue 1, February 2015, p. 82-101 ISSN 2305-7394 their reasons for pledging, it is possible to look for commonality among the motivations as the wealthy themselves have stated them. One problem with this approach is that it does not offer any insight into the shared reasons why some do not pledge, and a second challenge is the difficulty in measuring the significance of any perceived patterns. Never-the-less, there are insights to be gained from words of those who have made the commitment. The Giving Pledge website (2013) posts letters from most signatories commenting on their decisions to pledge. A perusal of the 59 letters submitted (of the 63 who signed the Pledge) uncovers some common themes. 84 THE FORBES 400 AND THE GATES-BUFFETT GIVING PLEDGE Exhibit One Motivation of Pledgers in Their Own Words Blessed Give Back/ Enjoy To Name of Pledger /Luck Respons’lity Inspire Selected Quotes “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest…I won what I call the ovarian lottery.” “The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude.” “The dollars these people drop into a collection plate or give to the United Way mean forgone movies…or other personal pleasures. In contrast, my family and I will give up nothing we need or want by fulfilling this 99% pledge” Warren Buffett X “We have been blessed with good fortune beyond our wildest expectations…just as these gifts are great, so we feel a responsibility to use them well.” “Our animating principle is that all lives have equal value” Bill & Melinda Gates “we hope to pass this example on to our children” X X X “I suppose that I arrived at my charitable commitment largely thought guilt.” “…my good fortune was not due to superior personal character or initiative as it was too dumb luck.” X X “I was morally duty bound to help those left behind by the accident of birth.” George B. Kaiser “Making a difference in people’s lives…is perhaps the most satisfying thing you’ll ever do” “…leave a legacy people will remember” Michael Bloomberg X X “…by giving, we inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time.” 85 ACRN Journal of Finance and Risk Perspectives Vol. 4, Issue 1, February 2015, p. 82-101 ISSN 2305-7394 Blessed Give Back/ Enjoy To Name of Pledger /Luck Respons’lity Inspire Selected Quotes “through more luck than skill” “I enjoy seeing the benefits” David Rubinstein X X X “it is my hope that it will inspire” Henry & Susan “our lives have been extraordinarily blessed” Samueli X X X Jonathon Nelson X “encourage others to give” Glenn Dubin X X “…I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away. I like making money more, but giving it away is a close second” “I’m not a big fan of inherited wealth. It generally does more harm than good.” T. Boone Pickens X Jean & Steve Case X X “to whom much is given, much is expected” “Growing up in South Africa during the time of apartheid, we had direct experience of inequality, including disparities in health and access to good care…we see similar disparities on our doorstep in Michele Chan & Los Angeles…we will work to erode and eliminate disparities in health care.” Patrick Soon-Shiong X Kenneth Langone X Harold & Sue Ann “responsibilities come with success” Hamm X X X “a strong obligation to lead by example” Arthur M.